“It’s 2018 – lesbian, gay, bi and trans people should feel safe and no one should face hatred simply because of who they are.

“Sadly, the reality is very different. And while some people may suggest this spike is due to increased confidence in reporting, we fear these figures represent just the tip of the iceberg of a rise in hate crimes against LGBT people.”

The Home Office said in its report that it believes these rises are due to improved reporting, and do not necessarily genuine increases in hate crime.

Stonewall's spokeswoman commented that according to its research “four in five anti-LGBT hate crimes go unreported, with younger people particularly reluctant to go to the police”.

The research, by YouGov, also shows that trans people are more than twice as likely as to experience hate crime than other members of the LGBT+ community, meaning these figures could be vastly under representative.

The spokeswoman added: “These statistics are the real life consequence of a society where transphobia is everywhere – from the front pages of newspapers, to the gates of the school yard.

“Stonewall works with police services across Britain to ensure all LGBT people feel more confident and comfortable reporting abuse.

“It’s vital we improve confidence in the way the criminal justice system deals with LGBT hate crime.”

Overall police recorded hate crime increased by 42% in 2016-17, which the vast majority of the incidents classified as due to race.

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